US EPA

8781905 

Book/Book Chapter 

The effects of deformation bands on uranium-bearing fluid migration in sedimentary sequences, Flinders Ranges, South Australia 

Luniniecky, D; King, R; Holford, S; Bunch, M; Hill, S; Hore, S 

2017 

MINERAL RESOURCES TO DISCOVER, VOLS 1-4 

771-773 

English 

WOS:000439764100191 

Deformation bands are well known in petroleum geoscience for their petrological characteristics. However, their effects on sedimentary-hosted uranium systems are unknown. Four Mile Creek provides a natural laboratory to study the interplay between deformation bands and palaeofluid roll front deposits at the Dead Tree section. Two-dimensional face-maps of the Dead Tree section were produced to study the temporal evolution and spatial distribution of deformation bands within the Eyre Formation sandstone, which hosts the Four Mile uranium deposits 500 metres to the south. Structural analysis of 239 deformation bands is used for palaeostress reconstruction modelling. The analysis results show that a group of dilatational deformation bands are acting as uranium-bearing fluid conduits, supporting fluid flow from the Mt. Painter Domain sources to the Four Mile uranium deposit. This indicates that permeability contrast between the deformation bands and host rock is sufficient to support the flow of uranium bearing fluids via deformation band pathways, bridging the gap between the local structural history and fluid flow history of the Eyre Formation sandstone. 

Dion, C